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Families of seven missing men say they are illegally detained

CAIRO: The families of seven men detained since March say that they have still not been informed of the reasons for the men s detention. Lawyers from the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) planned to present a complaint to the public prosecutor s office Wednesday, alleging that the seven men are victims of …

CAIRO: The families of seven men detained since March say that they have still not been informed of the reasons for the men s detention.

Lawyers from the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) planned to present a complaint to the public prosecutor s office Wednesday, alleging that the seven men are victims of forced disappearance and illegal detention.

“I came back from the market and found state security investigations officers at the house, taking my son Ahmed away. They wanted my other son Mohamed, who wasn t there at the time, the mother of Mohamed Hegazy Ramadan – one of the seven detained men – told a press conference held at ANHRI s Cairo headquarters yesterday.

“They took Ahmed to force Mohamed to turn himself in. When he did so he was detained for 55 days without us having any idea where he was until we were informed that he had been taken to Abu Zabal prison, Ramadan s mother continued.

The seven men are from Minya El-Qamh in the Sharqeya governorate. All are in their early 20s except for one detainee, Khaled Ahmed El-Sabbah who is 42 years old.

An ANHRI lawyer told the press conference that El-Sabbah s house was raided at dawn by state security investigations officers who forced his wife to remove her niqab (full-face covering).

In tears, the father of detainee Ahmed Abdel Rahman recounted a similar experience.

“State security officers knocked at my door at 3:30 am and demanded to see Ahmed. They then searched his room and took his computer before telling him to get a blanket and taking him away. He s my only son and they took him away from me.

When asked, parents of the three detainees who spoke during the press conference insisted that their sons are not involved in political activity of any kind and that they have no idea why they are being held.

ANHRI lawyers say that they have not been allowed to visit the men in Abu Zabal prison, where they are currently being held.